84
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
58
Direct injuries
$44.4M
Property damage
Tornado in Rapides Parish, Louisiana: 84 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #98 nationally and #4 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Rapides Parish, Louisiana: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Rapides Parish is the 2010s, when 27 of the county's 84 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Rapides Parish archive, tornado makes up 12.7% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #98 for this hazard and #4 within Louisiana, putting it in the 96.7 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Dec is the peak month for tornado in Rapides Parish with 18 recorded events, while Aug is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953-12-03 | EF4 | 85.5 mi | 300 yd | Crossed in |
| 1957-11-07 | EF3 | 13.3 mi | 67 yd | Touched down here |
| 2019-12-16 | EF3 | 62.6 mi | 550 yd | Crossed in |
| 1981-06-05 | EF3 | 4.3 mi | 40 yd | Touched down here |
| 1971-06-22 | EF3 | 0.1 mi | 17 yd | Touched down here |
| 1951-01-06 | EF3 | 16.8 mi | 317 yd | Touched down here |
| 1953-03-22 | EF2 | 234.7 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 2020-04-22 | EF2 | 9.0 mi | 550 yd | Touched down here |
| 1957-10-23 | EF2 | 18.3 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2020-04-22 | EF2 | 8.4 mi | 500 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 8, 1957 | F3 | 3 | 16 | $2.5M | |
| Oct 23, 1957 | F2 | 1 | 1 | $25K | |
| Apr 23, 2020 | LECOMPTE ARPT | EF2 | 1 | 0 | $1.0M |
| Jan 6, 1951 | F3 | 0 | 11 | $250K | |
| Jun 5, 1981 | F3 | 0 | 10 | $2.5M | |
| Dec 3, 1953 | F4 | 0 | 10 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 30, 1975 | F2 | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| Apr 12, 1974 | F1 | 0 | 3 | $25K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 14, 2026 | CHENEYVILLE | EF0 | $25K |
| Feb 14, 2026 | UNION HILL | EF0 | $1K |
| Mar 4, 2025 | BOYCE | EF1 | $20K |
| Dec 27, 2024 | WILDA | EF1 | $75K |
| Dec 27, 2024 | OTIS | EF1 | $75K |
| May 31, 2024 | UNION HILL | EF1 | $20K |
| Nov 20, 2023 | WOODWORTH | EF0 | $0 |
| Dec 14, 2022 | VALDE ROUGE | EF1 | $75K |
| Dec 14, 2022 | FOREST HILL | EF1 | $40K |
| Apr 8, 2021 | LECOMPTE | EF1 | $30K |
Other hazards here
More from Rapides Parish
- Thunderstorm Wind 344
- Hail 171
- Flash Flood 42
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado started near I-49 and Robinson Bridge Road, where it damaged numerous homes and trees along the road. Two mobile homes were completely destroyed, killing one individual. The tornado then moved ENE crossing Hwy 470 damaging additional homes and bringing down numerous power poles. The tornado then jogged NE crossing Hwy 71 where it produced substantial damage to the DeWitt Livestock Facility. The tornado also substantially damaged farm and equipment buildings at the LSUA Dean Lee Research Station. The tornado proceeded ENE to the Red River producing tree and power pole damage.
A NWS survey confirmed an EF 2 tornado touched down in the woods southwest of in the town of Tioga and traveled into town. The tornado produced a damage path four to five miles long and 500 yards wide. The tornado damaged approximately 43 homes with a brick home having the roof almost totally ripped off. The tornado also damaged the Tioga Elementary School and an industrial complex along highway 167. At the school part of the roof of the gym was removed. At the industrial complex 5 18 wheeler trailers flipped over, several large overhead doors were blown in, and a large section of the metal roof was peeled off. One person was injured with very minor bumps and bruises when a mobile home rolled over.
A NWS storm survey confirmed an EF 2 tornado touched down in the city of Alexandria. The tornado produced a damage path near 1 mile long and 200 yards wide. The tornado began in a residential area between Polk and White Streets downing trees onto homes and removing some roofing material. It ripped roofs off some businesses including around the Washington Square Complex. The tornado moved across Interstate 49 and dissipated between Lee and Saint James Streets where several more homes and a church lost some roofing material.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Rapides Parish, Louisiana?
84 tornado events are recorded in Rapides Parish between 1951 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Rapides Parish?
The strongest tornado on record in Rapides Parish measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Rapides Parish come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Rapides Parish, Louisiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/louisiana/rapides-parish/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.